GettyImagesCeltic celebrate Gary Hooper's (88) opening goal against Spartak Moscow

Here's a statistic Celtic supporters could only have dreamed of not so long ago. Three away games in Europe played, and three wins recorded so far this season. For years, it was a serious blot on the club's escutcheon, this apparent inability to gather points on their continental travels. Now, such talk can be banished to the dustbin of football history.

It was about time Celtic's away jinx in the Champions League group stage proper came to an end, too. Anyone who watched the club's 3-2 win over a schizophrenic Spartak will have been left in no doubt that the victory was fully merited.

Admittedly, in the first few minutes the Scottish champions looked about as comfortable as their manager, in his UEFA issued purple bib (presumably an edict to prevent Neil Lennon's black tracksuit clashing with Celtic's black away strip.) After overcoming their initial twitches, Lennon's team quickly found their rhythm.

The team's gargantuan figure on the night was Gary Hooper. Now I have witnessed many a superb goalscoring performance from the former Scunthorpe finisher, but Hooper took everything to an even higher level at the Luzhniki. Top strikers are also masterful leaders of the line, and the 24-year-old possessed real authority and presence in this game.

For the first Celtic tally, it was Hooper the killer in front of goal. The chance was far from easy but he took it in his stride and found the net with aplomb.

Then we saw the selfless side of Hooper for the second goal, calmly holding the ball up before swivelling around to play in the onrushing James Forrest. Russia's new national manager Fabio Capello was watching from the tribune of honour. Timing is everything Don Fabio!

Before we all get carried away, this wasn't a completely flawless Celtic performance. Kelvin Wilson got caught napping in the seconds before Spartak's opener. Fraser Forster failed to parry the ball away far enough at the second goal, and Charlie Mulgrew picked up a needless yellow card for kicking the ball away.

Spartak also contributed mightily to their own downfall thanks to long spells of lethargy and laziness. Once they lost Argentine defender Juan Insuarralde to a red card, the belief in their ranks evaporated and it was Celtic's match for the taking.

That the visitors took advantage of the circumstances says much about the progress the SPL champions have made both technically and mentally in the past couple of years. Lennon too, has learned and grown from his early travails in Europe as a manager.

His introduction of James Forrest to run at the Spartak defence in place of the more defensive minded Victor Wanyama (who had already been booked) was precisely what was required at the time. Like it or not, managers are often judged by their substitutions and their effectiveness in big matches. Lennon got this one spot on.

Not many Celtic fans thought so at the time, but in hindsight, being placed in a very demanding Europa League group last season, was in many respects, a blessing.

Progressing to the knock-out stages from a section containing eventual winners Atletico Madrid, Udinese and Rennes was always going to be a long shot. Yet Celtic took it down to the last crucial meeting with the Italian side and played with purpose and positivity at the Stadio Friuli. It carried an echo of the previous away performance in Europe against France in Rennes, where they drew 1-1.

In the Champions League group this term, Barcelona clearly are on a different planet from the other three protagonists. But a compelling case can be made that last season's Europa League opponents were at least the equal of Spartak Moscow and Benfica, against whom Celtic played out a goalless draw at Parkhead on Matchday 1.

Having gathered four points from their opening two games, Celtic already know they will have something tangible to play for at the end of the group stage. The game that holds the key to round of 16 progression is the away meeting with Benfica, on November 20. Celtic have little to fear from the Portuguese side and the knowledge that they can win on their Champions League travels will serve them well in Lisbon.

Prior to that, Lennon's players can permit themselves to go into the two contests against Barcelona without the burden of expectation weighing them down. Celtic will travel to the Camp Nou almost three years on from Rubin Kazan's shock 2-1 win over Barcelona at that same venue, at the very same stage of the competition.

Superstitious are we? I suppose on that basis, the manager might not want to throw away that UEFA bib in a hurry.

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